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Do You Believe In Magic?

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness : A Review

Natalie.

….

Natalie!

(Silence)

Come on Natalie I know you hear me!

(No I don’t!)

NATALIE!

WHAT!?

First, you need to put the book down.
Second, you need to get your sweet ass to writing your review so that others
can know just how wonderful the highly anticipated third book in the All Soul’sTrilogy by Deborah Harkness is. Third, you are talking to yourself in
written form, so everyone can see your inner dialogue, you crazy Wench! Fourth,
my/your last point is that you’ve already read the book once, before everyone else has had
a chance to, so don’t be greedy.

So let your crazy show!

THE BOOK IS SO
GOOD I DON’T WANT TO PUT IT DOWN! (And I don't care that my crazy is showing one bit!) However for you, lovely readers, I’ve waited until the absolute last minute to do so. I’ve now left the highly dynamic world of Diana and
Matthew for you. It is because I love you, and without our readers I would not be in
such a place to read books like The Book of Life in advance. So with that being said you better follow me through the jump, for the short time I have set the book aside, so that I can share with
you my thoughts on the final installment of what is, by far, one of the best trilogies I’ve
read.

It begins with absence and desire

It begins with blood and fear.

It begins with a discovery of witches.

-Intro to A Discovery of Witches by Deborah
Harkness

A few weeks ago my life changed, not nearly to
the level that Diana’s life changed on that September evening in the Bodleian
Library in A Discovery of Witches, but monumentally changed nonetheless. I had asked the question “Will I be lucky enough to get my
hands on The Book of Life before others?” As Harkness says in her
books “Magic is a desire turned real” and the day I came home from work to see
a package at my front door, my desire turned real and magic happened! (Thank
you BARB!)

Maybe it's just me.

The Book of Life, the third installment of The
All Souls Trilogy, has been a long time in the making. I know my
journey with the series started with a People Magazine synopsis of A Discovery
of Witches back in 2010. And like a dying woman needing water, I read
book one quickly, only to wait one excruciating year for the second
book Shadow of Night to be released. Traveling back to 1591 with Diana
and Matthew in Shadow of Night made me want to be a time weaving witch so that
I could bring forth the third book faster! I, like any good spell
weaver/book pusher, got several of my friends hooked on the first two books
and was promptly banned from giving them any other books that were in a series or trilogy that
was not completed. Though my desire for book three was beyond
strong--I was truly obsessed--I knew I was okay with waiting. For I did not want Deborah Harkness to rush
through what she announced would be the last book for Diana and Matthew, so I was
willing to let her take her time with the completion of the series.

Mind
you, I did not have a say in the matter but I desired the best ending possible
for my Diana and Matthew, and now having read the book, I again feel that magic
has happened and that my desire has turned real.

With the manuscript at my door I ran inside my
house and ripped open the packaging from the publishers. I, like any good
Witch Historian, put my hand on top of The Book of Life the same way Diana put
her hand on top of Ashmole 782, and it sighed for me. (Fan girl much!? Shh inner voice I’m telling my story and writing the
review you told me to.)

The book knew it was home where it
should be and I opened the cover and smelled the new hot off the press
copy I had. It smelled nothing like the Ashmole 782, thank
goodness! I so don’t want to truly know what that book smells like! Instead, it
was one of my favorite scents in the world; New Book smell! It was
then that I blocked out the world I live in (You did not sleep and could not concentrate on work. Ok, inner voice you are starting to sound like Gollum. Now SHH!) and went traveling with Diana and
Matthew on the next and final stage of their journey.

Here I come adventure!

The Book of Life
starts off where A Shadow of Night had left me dangling by my nails from a
cliff, in front of Sept Tours in present day after Diana and Matthew have
returned from their trip to 1591. Then for the next 561 pages I
watched/read as Deborah Harkness wove her own magic through the power of words
and created a perfect 10th knot of a book. Harkness managed to convey very powerful messages about self worth and acceptance. Acceptance of not only who you are as a person but acceptance across racial boundary lines, religious differences, and sexual preferences all while giving you a history and a biology lesson. I think the most powerful lesson that was reconfirmed for me in these three books, especially number three, is that you should understand history and learn from it but not repeat it. I received all of Harkness's messages whether they were intentional or not, without feeling like I was getting any particular set of views slammed down my throat, and felt they flowed very organically with the story.

I was totally
and thoroughly engrossed in the fast moving pace of book 3 and I found myself
crying, laughing, and if this had been a movie I was definitely at the edge of my
seat as the plot unfolded. (You
also felt the strong need to go back to school, don’t forget to tell them
that! Again inner voice you need to be quiet or I’ll never get this
done! Yes you are correct I did feel that I should have paid closer attention in my
lectures back when I was in school to understand certain parts of the book.)

The Book of Life
brought back my favorite characters and some that I was only just briefly
introduced to in the previous two books. If each character were a colored
thread, Harkness's talent as a writer has weaved together an amazing tapestry with these three
books. Any good weaver would tell you, it's how you close the
weaving and the last stitches that count the most. It is in these last
steps that you put in the final pops of color that highlight all your previous
work. The Book of Life takes the final steps in the process and brings
forth the fine details of the characters and their arches so that they
leap off the page with their vibrancy. Harkness has made her tapestry complete with this installment! I refuse to give away any spoilers as I
want those who have read A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night to enjoy
the Book of Life, like it is fine wine that Harkness is so fond of. Know
that whether I compare this book to wine or a tapestry, the final
book of the All Soul's Trilogy is well balanced, layered with
complexity, fast paced, and over all a complete, well-rounded story.

This Wench definitely recommendsthis trilogy!

My heart is saddened that this is the last
book in this world that I so greatly enjoy traveling to. I do feel that
Harkness has left a little room, if she so chooses, for a spin off book or
two. As some of the characters, I felt, could have their story go on with
possible appearances from both Diana and Matthew. My only hope or maybe
it is a wish/dream is that maybe just maybe, though I do not know of any
possibility of this becoming reality, is for Harkness to continue the world she has created for us even if Diana and Matthew's portion of the story has been completed. If
she chooses not to bring this world back to the page and the characters
stay right where she has left them, I will not feel as if I've been robbed of
anything. I am not one to simply read a book once and in the case of
the All Soul's Trilogy I do plan on reading it as often as I can for
Deborah Harkness has created a universe that I will never leave completely. The
Book of Life truly is desire turned real!

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